My Almost Escapade
by Darkxander
Summary: This is a short story based off the book, "All Quiet on the Western Front". This is about a soldier who goes to war to protect not only his family but his country was well.
This is a short story for a book (explained in summary). Yeah; so um here you go. please enjoy. Oh, and leave any comments if you have any. :)

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My name is Detering, I am a German soldier fighting in World War I. And this is my story before I ran, before I was sentenced for becoming a coward, before I became the madman I am right now. Paul was almost always there for me, I can remember the good, fun times we had while we waited out of the war, the feast with Kat and the others and how we just ate to our heart's content. I can remember the strong bonds that we all had grown with each other. Especially my family, I have been gone for so long and a large fear of mine is that I will never be able to return to them. Then I get the final realization that hits; I will never be able to see my family or my farm ever again. I'll never get to see my friends or the frontline. I was glad but then I was slowly forgetting how it used to be before I was enlisted in the army.

I liked it back in Germany; then again I enlisted because my father wanted me to. "It will make you more of a man than becoming a farmer ever would." He would tell me constantly when I was seventeen, and I pondered on that fact. I went to the market one day to buy some groceries and there, one of the cashiers, was one of the prettiest girls I have ever seen. She had milky brown hair that had reminded me of my snack I had recently, chocolate, and it was up in a ponytail. Her eyes were a crystal blue and they sparkled like diamonds and sapphires. It was pretty rare to see such a pretty girl nowadays since they were all forced to be enlisted into the hospitals or somewhere else. And that's when I realized after I talked to her that I wanted to become a farmer and even though there will be a hard work, I will finally be happy. As my mom always said, "A poor farmer's heart soon grows wide from the handsome reward that is paid off. Also Detering, promise me this that you will grow up to make yourself happy."

And now here I sit in a jail cell, waiting for my punishment that will cost me my life. I could remember what I did before I ended up in this death warrant. Paul, I and the others were getting off of the frontline for a break and I always saw these cherry blossom trees and they always reminded me of home. Their smell reminded me of my wife, who was waiting for me to arrive home. _It'll never happen_ , I thought, _never again will I be able to see my wife, the love of my life just before I die. I'll never get to tell her that I love her and I protected her with my life. I'll never get to see my child ever again._ Mainly in the end, it will never happen, I will never get to see her and nothing with change.

The sound of metal creaking was loud as my eyes looked towards the door, there stood two guards waiting. "It's time to go and receive your judgment." The one on the left said as the one on the right gravely nodded. I swallowed and got up as they roughly grabbed me and we left. My thoughts consumed my sight again as the few days before this happened came to me. I wish I had never left, the guilt is still floating around. Remembering about how I was preparing to leave, I was mainly being as quiet as possible, making sure that I had everything. There was a rustling on the floor nearby, _For sure, That can't be Paul. I double checked and everything_. And there was his silent voice that crept up behind me and startled me quicker than lightning. "Don't do anything silly, Detering."

I wondered what he could've meant now and I realized; he knew that this was going to happen. Running away does not solve problems; it only makes them worse and I made the problem worse by running away from being a soldier to becoming a weakling and because of that, I was going to be killed. At least in the army, no one would be purposefully doing it, they would just be doing it because it is their duty to kill. Exactly how many human beings have had to suffer from this dumb war? What is the point of fighting in order to maintain strength?

There is no point; that's why I ran, I ran in order to avoid being a part of it. I wanted to be free and I will. Once this is all over, I will finally be able to be with my family, my father, my mother, my sisters and brother. I heard a gunshot and fell to the ground smiling. Happy for becoming the man I am today from the world in my past. _Thanks for always believing in my Lylia_. And I finally had eternal rest.


End file.
